LAWYERSCHILE EL MUNDO INTERNACIONAL DEL ABOGADO

Rodrigo González Fernández y un grupo de egresados de la Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad la Republica en Chile ha decidido poner al alcance de todo el mundo de la profesion legal importantes materias en Ingles para ir practicando el trabajo en materia de Tratados internacionales y que nuestra profesión estará en primera linea. Invitamos a todos a opinar, debatir, participar activamente.Es el primer blog legal en inglés de latinoamerica.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Legal Blog Watch

Legal Blog Watch

Supreme Court Adds 17 Cases to Its Calendar

This morning, the Supreme Court announced the 17 new cases that it's added to its calendar for the new term, as reported here at SCOTUS Blog (to review the petitions seeking cert and case dockets, visit this link).

The cases include some interesting issues, such as the constitutionality of requiring voters to show a photo ID before they may vote; the constitutionality of execution by lethal injection where the procedure poses a risk of pain and suffering in violation of the Eighth Amendment ban on "cruel and unusual punishment"; and a Fourth Amendment case involving an unlawful search under state law that Volokh conspirator and Fourth Amendment guru Orin Kerr is interested in. We'll be covering many of these cases here at Legal Blog Watch, so stay tuned ...

Posted by Carolyn Elefant on September 25, 2007 at 02:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Law Firm Salaries: If You Can't Beat Them, Retreat From Them

When New York firm Simpson Thacher announced its decision to raise starting associate salaries to $160,000, most law firms raced to jump on the bandwagon. But as this article (9/25/07) reports, one midsize New York law firm, Duval & Stachenfeld, has taken an opposite strategy: It pays starting associates $60,000 -- or $100,000 below the going rate. Salaries don't stay flat, however, and by their third year, D&S associates can expect to match salaries of their counterparts at top firms.

There are several reasons behind D&S's approach. From the article:

The idea is that [the firm] will attract first-years from second-tier schools or less-competitive students at the top schools. Within two years, about half of those junior associates will prove themselves and hop on the gravy train of the top scale. Meanwhile, the hefty pay for mid-level and senior associates makes Duval & Stachenfeld an attractive option for unsatisfied laterals from top firms.

In addition, lower pay enables the firm to hire more associates and to mitigate clients' concerns that they're subsidizing the cost of training high-paid associates.

Given the realities of the the current legal market that my colleague Bob Ambrogi posted on yesterday, there are probably no shortage of applicants for positions at D&S, even with the lower pay scale. Moreover, it's a win-win situation for the firm, which gets the benefits of cheap labor by lawyers who are grateful for an opportunity to have a job at all.

Question for readers: Why aren't more firms taking this approach?

Posted by Carolyn Elefant on September 25, 2007 at 02:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What Google Docs Means for the Law

Wired GC has two posts on Google Docs that merit review. (Full disclosure: My husband works for Google, though not on this product, and even my sixth-grade daughter uses Google docs to edit a newspaper that she runs with some friends outside of school). If you're not familiar with Google Docs and how it works, this post from Wired GC offers a neat and simple explanatory video.

But why should you care about Google Docs or other open source, collaborative applications, for that matter? Wired GC responds here. He writes that Google Docs may make some users question why they've been paying so much for complicated collaborative software that Google has made available for free. And by making this application available at no charge, people become more comfortable with "software-as-a-service." Finally, Wired GC concludes:

Getting back to the law, note what is happening here. When you make working together easier, you don't just do things better. You also do fewer things faster and therefore much cheaper. Much of the business model of the legal industry is based upon doing too many things slower.

Have you or your firm started exploring these kinds of collaboration tools? And is Wired GC right -- is the availability of fairly robust open source applications making lawyers rethink more costly models?

Posted by Carolyn Elefant on September 25, 2007 at 02:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Blawg Review #127

This week, trial lawyer and jury consultant Ann Reed hosts Blawg Review #127 at her blog, Deliberations. And the verdict on her voir dire-themed Blawg Review is unanimously favorable, as evidenced by this litany of positive commentary and trackbacks. Even the sometimes curmudgeonly David Giacalone of f/k/a/ offers a positive review of Reed's Blawg Review, finding Reed "not guilty" of
thematic excess.

Posted by Carolyn Elefant on September 25, 2007 at 02:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Saludos
Rodrigo González Fernández
DIPLOMADO EN RSE DE LA ONU
www..Consultajuridicachile.blogspot.com
www.lobbyingchile.blogspot.com
www.el-observatorio-politico.blogspot.com
Renato Sánchez 3586
telefono: 5839786
santiago-chile

soliciten nuestros cursos de capacitación a nivel internacional

Monday, September 24, 2007

'Environment: The UN Conference on Climate Change Part II'

'Environment: The UN Conference on Climate Change Part II'
by Juliana Rotich

- Thematic Plenary- Adaptation. Facilitator is Dr. Asha-Rose migiro Deputy Secretary General
Co chaired by HE Jan Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister of the Netherlands and H.E Mr. Fakhruddin Ahmed the Honourable Chief Advisor of the Non-Party Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh.

I will be doing short form blogging in the form of tweets in the newly created channel for Global voices: http://twitter.com/GlobalVoicesEnv Short summaries of what the leaders are saying in the 2nd plenary session "The challenge of Adaptation" (Note:session began at 3pm, I will tweet it from 4pm onwards).

Note that Part I is posted here.

You may view the latest post at
http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/2007/09/24/environment-the-un-conference-on-climate-change-part-ii/

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You received this e-mail because you asked to be notified when new updates are posted.
If you no longer wish to receive notifications of new posts then please visit:
http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/subscribe.php

Best regards,
The Global Voices Team
globalvoices.online@gmail.com

soliciten nuestros cursos de capacitaciónen Calentamiento Global y Biocombustibles a nivel internacional

Friday, September 21, 2007

re You Using the Five Types of

Are You Using the Five Types of
Links Properly?

by Ben Yoskovitz

5 types of links

This is the first guest post by Ben Yoskovitz.

Not all links are created equally, and not all links serve the same purpose.

Brian Clark reminds us that using click here as anchor text is still valid. But Lisa Barone disagrees; her argument being that keywords in the anchor text are critical.

They're both right.

Click to continue →

September 19, 2007

soliciten nuestros cursos de capacitación a nivel internacional

the front page the new yor times

the front page

Complaint Says Hsu Admitted Fraud

By ALAN FEUER and MIKE McINTIRE

Prosecutors said Norman Hsu, the Democratic fund-raiser, confessed to F.B.I. agents that he had swindled investors.

The Long Run

In 9/11 Chaos, Giuliani Forged a Lasting Image

By MICHAEL POWELL

Rudolph W. Giuliani's conduct during and after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks brought him back from the edge of irrelevancy.

A Stern Line on Race and Politics (July 22, 2007)
Times Topics: Rudolph W. Giuliani | Video
Related Articles and Documents

Value of Dollar Falls to New Low Against the Euro

By VIKAS BAJAJ and IAN AUSTEN

The euro traded above $1.40 for the first time since the common European currency was introduced.

Back Story With David Leonhardt (mp3)

Protest in Louisiana Echoes the Civil Rights Era

By RICHARD G. JONES

More than 10,000 demonstrators rallied in Jena, La., to protest the treatment of six black teenagers.

Slide Show: March on Jena, La.

Guards' Shots Not Provoked, Iraq Concludes

By SABRINA TAVERNISE and JAMES GLANZ

Iraq's Ministry of Interior is proposing a radical reshaping of the way American diplomats in Iraq are protected.

Illegal Immigrants Chase False Hope to Canada

By MONICA DAVEY and ABBY GOODNOUGH

Illegal immigrants to the United States have been arriving in a Canadian border town looking for asylum.

Calls for a Breakup Grow Ever Louder in Belgium

By ELAINE SCIOLINO

A sense of crisis prevails in Belgium, as separatists want to slice the country horizontally along ethnic lines.

Bush Threatens Veto of Child Health Bill

$6 Billion in Contracts Reviewed, Pentagon Says

Critics Right and Left Protest Book Removals

Cases of Cholera Reach Baghdad

Spitzer Gets Victory in Inquiry

Scientists Report Severe Retreat of Arctic Ice

Landis's Positive Doping Test Upheld

Saludos
Rodrigo González Fernández
www..Consultajuridicachile.blogspot.com
www.lobbyingchile.blogspot.com
www.el-observatorio-politico.blogspot.com
Renato Sánchez 3586
telefono: 5839786
santiago-chile

Escribanos, consúltenos, opine

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

The Long Run

In Olympics Success, Romney Found New Edge

Jeffrey D. Allred for The New York Times

In 2001, Mitt Romney, as chief executive of the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, received the Olympic torch from Lambis Nikolaou, president of the Hellenic Olympic Committee in Athens.

Sign In to E-Mail or Save This
Print
Single Page
Reprints
Share
- Digg
- Facebook
- Newsvine
- Permalink

By KIRK JOHNSON

Published: September 19, 2007

SALT LAKE CITY — Mitt Romney walked onto the Olympic stage in 1999 a rich businessman still smarting from losing his first bid for public office. He walked off, three years later, a star-polished candidate who would be elected governor of Massachusetts in a matter of months. This was the place of his emergence and his transition.

Skip to next paragraph

Starting Over

This is part of a series of articles about the lives and careers of contenders for the 2008 Republican and Democratic presidential nominations.

In 2000, a Streetwise Veteran Schooled a Bold Young Obama (Sept. 9, 2007)

In Turmoil of '68, Clinton Found a New Voice (Sept. 5, 2007)

Fred D. Thompson: Walking Washington's Fine Line (Aug. 27, 2007)

Rudolph W. Giuliani: In a Volatile City, a Stern Line on Race and Politics (July 22, 2007)

Barack Obama: In Illinois, Obama Proved Pragmatic and Shrewd (July 30, 2007)

Times Topics: Barack Obama

Multimedia

Slide Show

Romney and the 2002 Olympic Games

The Caucus

The latest political news from around the nation. Join the discussion.

Candidate Topic Pages

More Politics News

In rescuing the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games, which had been tarnished by scandal, Mr. Romney learned the ways of Washington and the hurly-burly of politics, mastered the news media, built a staff of loyalists and made fund-raising connections in Utah that have proven vital to his presidential campaign.

"The Olympics gave him a public persona he didn't have before," said Robert H. Garff, a businessman who served as the chairman of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee. "He grew into the person he is today."

But the hardheaded and hard-nosed pragmatism that allowed Mr. Romney to juggle an unruly coalition of politicians, sponsors and volunteers as chief executive of the Games now haunts him on the campaign trail among some conservative Republicans. They complain that he has no core beliefs and shifts positions on a range of issues to placate various constituencies.

As a Republican presidential hopeful, for example, Mr. Romney portrays himself as a budget hawk who would take a hard line on federal spending and Congressional earmarks, the pet projects that lawmakers insert in spending bills. Back then, though, he lobbied heavily for earmarks, helping extract millions of federal dollars for projects in some cases only loosely tied to the Olympics and drawing the ire of Senator John McCain of Arizona, a longtime critic of earmarks and now a rival for the Republican presidential nomination.

While even Mr. Romney's critics concede that the Games — which had faced serious potential

financial difficulties before his arrival — were a huge success, some say he made those early problems seem worse than they were to embellish his accomplishments. Others grouse about his showman's instinct for the spotlight: the countless photo-ops, the television spots. Even the little Olympic pins sold to collectors carried his image, cloaked in the American flag.

Ever calibrating his pitch, Mr. Romney scored big sponsors (including the Games "first official cake mix" and "Olympic meat") and sidelined critics (sometimes by just inviting them in to air their grievances). He paid attention to virtually every detail, including the scripts for board presentations and the traffic — once jumping from his car to unsnarl jammed vehicles en route to a ski event.

It was clear then to many in Utah that Mr. Romney was probably aiming for bigger things. "It was obvious that he had an agenda larger than just the Olympics," Mr. Garff said.

In a recent interview, Mr. Romney said the Games had prepared him for the complexity of public life.

"I never saw a more difficult turnaround situation than the one at the Olympics," he said. "And the team, not just me, but a remarkable team of public leaders and Olympic leaders pulled off something which was a massive undertaking and which had a crisis written all over it."

Asked how he put together the effort, Mr. Romney checked off his list: hire the right people, motivate them, make decisions on the basis of analysis and debate, set bench marks to measure success.

"He always has an objective in mind and a goal that he works toward," said Randy L. Dryer, a lawyer and a former member of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee who worked closely with Mr. Romney and described himself as a Democrat, but also an admirer of Mr. Romney's. "But he's not unwilling to modify that objective if it's an uphill battle and not worth the fight to get there — he is not bullheaded."

Challenge After Defeat

After his failed bid for the Senate seat held by Edward M. Kennedy in 1994, Mr. Romney grew restless. The loss "felt worse than we had imagined," he wrote in his book, "Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership and the Olympic Games" (Regnery, 2004). He had also recently bought a ski house in Park City, Utah, and the idea of simply making more and more money, he said in his book, was losing its appeal. So he quickly jumped at the chance to lead the Organizing Committee, which was trying to recover from the taint of scandal, and just as quickly formulated a strategy.

Beginning in late 1998, articles had begun to pile up about hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts bestowed on members of the International Olympic Committee by some of those involved in Utah's bid for the Games. As resignations, investigations and tales of greed filled the headlines, some politicians and business leaders even suggested that Utah should abandon the effort to be host of the Games.

"I knew that the first thing I needed to do was to draw a clear, bright, heavy line between what had happened before and what was going to happen in the future," Mr. Romney wrote in his book. "No one likes joining a loser, but they like rooting for, and helping, a comeback kid."

Escribanos, consúltenos, opine

Fed Cuts Rate Half Point, and Stock Markets Soar

By EDMUND L. ANDREWS

The Dow gained 2.5 percent after the Fed's forceful move, which was intended to limit the damage

from the disorder in the housing and credit markets.

Escribanos, consúltenos, opine

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

New Social Sites Cater to People of a Certain Age

Sign In to E-Mail or Save This
Print
Single Page
Reprints
Share
- Digg
- Facebook
- Newsvine
- Permalink

By MATT RICHTEL

Published: September 12, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 11 — Older people are sticky.

Skip to next paragraph

Enlarge This Image

Illustration by The New York Times

Enlarge This Image

Darcy Padilla for The New York Times

Robin Wolaner, who founded Parenting magazine in 1987, has started a Web site for older people.

That is the latest view from Silicon Valley. Technology investors and entrepreneurs, long obsessed with connecting to teenagers and 20-somethings, are starting a host of new social networking sites aimed at baby boomers and graying computer users.

The sites have names like Eons, Rezoom, Multiply, Maya's Mom, Boomj, and Boomertown. They look like Facebook — with wrinkles.

And they are seeking to capitalize on what investors say may be a profitable characteristic of older Internet users: they are less likely than youngsters to flit from one trendy site to the next.

"Teens are tire kickers — they hang around, cost you money and then leave," said Paul Kedrosky, a venture capitalist and author of the blog "Infectious Greed." Where Friendster was once the hot spot, Facebook and MySpace now draw the crowds of young people online.

"The older demographic has a bunch of interesting characteristics," Mr. Kedrosky added, "not the least of which is that they hang around."

This prospective and relative stickiness is helping drive a wave of new investment into boomer and older-oriented social networking sites that offer like-minded (and like-aged) individuals discussion and dating forums, photo-sharing, news and commentary, and chatter about diet, fitness and health care.

Last week, VantagePoint Ventures, an early investor in MySpace, announced that it had led a $16.5 million round of financing for Multiply, a social networking site aimed at people who are settled.

In August, Shasta Ventures led a $4.8 million financing round for TeeBeeDee, a site coming out of its test stage this month. The name is short for "To Be Determined" (as in: just because you're not trolling for a mate on MySpace doesn't mean your life is over.)

Also in August, Johnson & Johnson spent $10 million to $20 million to acquire Maya's Mom, a social networking site for parents, according to a person briefed on the deal. The site has been in existence about a year.

Social networking has so far focused mainly on businesspeople and young people because they are tech-savvy and are treasured by Madison Avenue.

But there are 78 million boomers — roughly three times the number of teenagers — and most of them are Internet users who learned computer skills in the workplace. Indeed, the number of Internet users who are older than 55 is roughly the same as those who are aged 18 to 34, according to Nielsen/NetRatings, a market research firm.

TeeBeeDee's founder is Robin Wolaner, who in 1987 created Parenting magazine. That year, at least seven magazines focused on being a parent were started, and Ms. Wolaner said she was seeing the same sudden recognition of a need for Internet publishers to respond to the demands of older Americans.

She came up with the idea for the site, she said, "when I was sitting around with friends and we said, 'We're not going to hang out at the AARP site. What is there for us?' " (Plus, she said, she wanted to find a community where she could discuss her interest in getting an eye lift).

"There's a recognition that this generation now uses the Internet just like younger people," she said. "The one thing this generation hasn't done yet is network online."

The question is whether they'll want to network in large enough numbers to justify the tens of millions of dollars going into the space. Indeed, the interest from entrepreneurs and venture capitalists has led to a mini-boom in sites that cater to baby boomers, creating what they say is both critical mass and a likely falling out.

Some of the older users of the sites say the experience feels more comfortable to them than when they tried MySpace, Facebook or Friendster.

"I've discussed my divorce, my medical issues, and when do I dare go dating again," said Martha Starks, 52, a retired optician in Tucson, who spends an hour or two each evening on a site called Eons. "I sure wouldn't discuss that stuff with a 20-year-old."

She says she talks about lighter things, too, like movies and music, with an audience that gets what she is saying.

"They don't even know who Aretha is — she's the queen of soul!" she said.

Meg Dunn, 38, who is raising three children in Fort Collins, Colo., said she had tried MySpace and Facebook but had found that the short attention span of users didn't suit her either. She now uses Multiply, where she shares family photos with her relatives, and gets into discussions on substantive topics, like health issues and illnesses affecting elderly people.

"I feel like I'm putting down roots, building relationships," she said. "My feeling on MySpace is that people give you a poke, and then they're gone and you never see them again."

Sphere: Related Blogs & Articles

Saturday, September 15, 2007

ISDE abre la convocatoria de los másteres en abogacía y del Master in International Sports Law

abogados del mundo

ISDE abre la convocatoria de los másteres en abogacía y del Master in International Sports Law
Las nuevas ediciones del Master in International Sports Law y de los Masters en Abogacía tienen ya abierta la convocatoria para el curso 2007/2008. El primero destaca por su equipo docente formado por prestigiosos profesionales del mundo del deporte y las prácticas a nivel nacional e internacional. Los segundos, lideran el ránking anual de El Mundo por cuarto año consecutivo.

NP ISDE + Ana Arenas
Redacción Aprendemas
13/09/2007

Imprimir

Enviar a un amigo

Opinar

El Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economia ISDE comienza el nuevo curso académico con la apertura de las convocatorias de sus másteres en abogacía y en Derecho Deportivo Internacional. Además, por cuarto año consecutivo los Másteres ISDE en Abogacía han quedado en primer lugar en el ranking anual elaborado por el periódico El Mundo. Prácticas exclusivas y un interesante programa de becas hacen de esta escuela de negocios una de las más prestigiosas de nuestro país.

Prácticas y clase con prestigiosos profesionales

El Master in International Sport Law que imparte el Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economia ISDE es el primero que combina dos elementos esenciales que hacen único a este postgrado. Por una parte, el cuadro docente del curso está formado por los más prestigiosos profesionales del mundo del deporte. Por otra, los alumnos matriculados tendrán acceso a prácticas en las instituciones deportivas y despachos jurídicos más relevantes en el mundo del deporte nacional e internacional.

Dirigido fundamentalmente a profesionales, cuya actividad esté vinculada directa o indirectamente al mundo del deporte, que quieran desarrollar y potenciar sus conocimientos base en el ámbito de la gestión y el derecho y deportivo internacional, el Master in International Sport Law tiene profesores y alumnos provenientes de países de todo el mundo, lo que hace que este Máster esté impregnado de la diversidad y universalidad que aportan unos y otros.

El objetivo del Master in International Sport Law es dotar al alumno de todos los instrumentos y mecanismos prácticos y conceptuales necesarios para articular con éxito relaciones jurídicas con organismos deportivos de naturaleza pública y privada. Así, combina las materias necesarias para un profesional del derecho (legislación civil, laboral, administrativa, derecho deportivo, derecho de contratación, técnicas de negociación, marketing, esponsorización, seguros y merchandaising, ley de propiedad intelectual, recursos humanos, derechos de televisión y federativos) con el desarrollo de las habilidades necesarias en cualquier gestor deportivo.

El método del caso práctico es el pilar fundamental de las clases que se desarrollan a lo largo del curso. El profesorado, constituido por árbitros de primer nivel provenientes de los tribunales deportivos internacionales y abogados o profesionales expertos en el mundo del deporte, son los que exponen, discuten y simulan verdaderos arbitrajes, juicios y realidades vividas por ellos en las que explican el por qué de las decisiones tomadas, los factores más decisivos o las regulaciones aplicables y aplicadas a cada caso en particular. En cada argumento, el alumno será el Club, el Juez o el atleta y tendrá que defender sus argumentos de la manera más convincente posible.

Además, los alumnos visitarán los despachos e Instituciones Deportivas como a la RFEF, la LFP o el Comité Olímpico para tener un contacto más personal que las personas que trabajan en los mismos y para que conozcan el día a día de estas instituciones. Es aquí donde los estudiantes realizarán su periodo de prácticas, donde aprenderán cómo se trabaja y cómo funciona cada una de las instituciones deportivas.

Para completar el Master, de un año de duración, cada alumno hará una tesis de investigación durante el período de prácticas sobre el tema elegido que mejor pueda servir en su futuro profesional.

Cuatro años en el Número 1 de El Mundo

Este es el cuarto año consecutivo que los másteres en abogacía de ISDE quedan en el número 1 del ranking que anualmente elabora El Mundo. Para la concepción de este ranking se han tenido en cuenta 26 criterios, divididos en 5 grupos tales como Demanda, Recursos Humanos, Plan de Estudios, Resultados y Medios materiales. En total, los autores del ranking han valorado más de 1000 programas y la gran mayoría de Centros de Formación nacionales.

El éxito de ISDE radica en la combinación de los conocimientos teóricos y prácticos. De esta forma, grandes docentes que ocupan puestos destacados en importantes firmas se encargan de dar clase y transmitir su saber al alumnado. Durante la segunda fase, totalmente práctica, los alumnos se integran en importantes despachos de abogados y gabinetes jurídicos, donde inician con éxito su carrera profesional.

En los másteres en abogacía, ISDE cuenta con la colaboración docente y profesional de grandes firmas de despachos nacionales e internacionales como Garrigues, Gómez-Acebo & Pombo, Cuatrecasas, Clifford Chance, DLA Piper, Baker & McKenzie, Allen & Overy, Freshfield Bruckhaus Deringer, entre otros.

Otra de las ventajas de ISDE es el éxito de incorporación de sus alumnos al mercado laboral. Para facilitar esta labor, ISDE ha suscrito convenios con las principales firmas de abogados y gabinetes jurídicos de empresas multinacionales, que garantizan la entrada a los alumnos master en sus instituciones.

En este sentido, estos despachos y gabinetes jurídicos son los que se encargan, durante el segundo semestre de los programas, de acoger a los alumnos en sus respectivas firmas, de forma los alumnos se integran como un profesional más a los quehaceres cotidianos. Esto ha posibilitado que la gran mayoría de los graduados ISDE hayan conseguido incorporarse al mundo laboral antes de finalizar su programa Master en Abogacía o Abogacía Internacional. Precisamente, la última promoción de estos programas en Barcelona ha conseguido una colocación que roza el 100% de los graduados en importantes despachos de abogados.

Bolsa de Trabajo y Becas

Además, el ISDE cuenta con una importante Bolsa de Trabajo para alumnos y antiguos alumnos y que les ofrece nuevas oportunidades de optar a un puesto de trabajo relacionado con su área de especialización.

Por otra parte, gracias a los acuerdos conseguidos con instituciones nacionales e internacionales y con grandes empresas vinculadas al mundo jurídico, el Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economía ISDE tiene un programa de becas adecuado para cada alumno.

Además, por segundo año consecutivo Economist & Jurist, publicación de referencia del sector jurídico, cubrirá un cupo de becas parciales destinadas a los estudiantes de Derecho que quieran cursar los programas Master en Abogacía y Máster en Abogacía Internacional que ISDE imparte junto al IL3 Universidad de Barcelona y que comenzarán el próximo mes de octubre de 2007.

Escribanos, consúltenos, opine

Legal Blog Watch

Legal Blog Watch

In Monday's NLJ: Few Women Go Solo

Women lawyers prefer to fly in flocks, suggests the headline from an article to appear Monday in The National Law Journal, Women Choosing Not to Fly Solo. Writer Leigh Jones reports on a massive, decade-long study tracking the careers of 4,500 lawyers. Of the lawyers in the study who went solo, just a third were women.

This seems counterintuitive to the notion that a solo practice can be more family friendly than working at a larger firm. As my Legal Blog Watch co-author Carolyn Elefant puts it at her MyShingle blog: "You'd think that women looking for work life balance would find solo practice appealing, because when you work for yourself, you gain control over the hours you work and the hours you handle." The NLJ piece suggests that one factor keeping women at larger firms is that the reliability of steady pay and benefits outweighs the scheduling freedom that solo work can provide. Elefant has a different theory:

"My own belief is that women themselves are driving lawyers away from solo practice. As I posted here previously, when women demand equality in the profession, they're usually referring to equality at big law firms. Women who start and head their own practices, no matter how prominent, simply don't count. As a result, younger women don't view solo practice as an option."

Let me throw in one other thought: It is a fallacy to maintain that going solo is necessarily liberating. I can attest to the fact that many solos work hours equal to or greater than their larger-firm counterparts, and they do so without the safety net of partners and associates to fall back on. No doubt, a solo practice can be family friendly, but it can also be all-consuming. Whether you are trying to schedule a two-week vacation or simply slip away to your son's after-school recital, there is much to be said for having a partner to cover you.

Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on September 14, 2007 at 01:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Aesop of Law?

Dickinson School of Law professor Robert E. Rains is described in his professional biography as a prolific contributor to academic and professional journals, one of the law school's most widely published faculty members. His writings focus on serious issues of family, juvenile and disability law. But for some two decades, Rains has had a literary sideline, of sorts, writing humorous fables and verses drawn from real-life legal stories.

Now, Rains has compiled his fables in a book, True Tales of Trying Times: Legal Fables for Today. The book is published in the United States by independent publisher Willow Crossing Press and was just released in the United Kingdom by Wildy & Sons Ltd. The book's Web site describes it as a humorous collection of modern-day parables drawn from actual court decisions. "The fables are short in length and long in wit, each concluding with a moral drawn from the tale, presented in verse." Rains' wife, a "recovering attorney," and sister-in-law contributed pen-and-ink drawings to illustrate the fables. It is a book, says the Web site, that is "for everyone: not just lawyers, but people too!"

Rains tells The Carlisle Sentinel that he writes these fables in part as a way "to keep what's left of my sanity." Appropriately, the book's forward is written by Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice J. Michael Eakin, who himself gained notoriety as Pennsylvania's "rhyming judge" after issuing opinions written entirely in verse. The moral of the story: What's good for the professor may not be for the judge.

Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on September 14, 2007 at 01:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nokia Trademarks Classic Guitar Score

What's a phone company to do when a classical 19th-century guitar score becomes its most popular and recognizable ringtone? Trademark it, of course.

Bill Heinze at I/P Updates delivers the news that on Sept. 4, Nokia received a U.S. trademark for "a sound comprising a C eighth note, E flat eight note, B flat eighth note, G quarter note, C eighth note and C quarter note." For the less musically inclined among us, that happens to describe the 14th bar of Gran Vals, a classical guitar piece composed by Spaniard Franciso Tárrega, described by Wikipedia as "one of the most influential guitarists the world has ever known." Unfortunately, perhaps, for Mr. Tárrega, his composition has also come to be known as the Nokia tune, thanks to its ubiquity as the company's default ring tone.

For its part, Nokia -- not to be crassly commercial about all this -- offers this sample of the song as it was meant to be played, by guitar rather than phone. For those who prefer their music in MIDI format, there is this version.

Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on September 14, 2007 at 01:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

How Football Parallels Copyright Law

Sports pundits are weighing in from every angle on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's decision to fine New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick a half-million dollars for his team's videotaping of its opponent's defensive signals. But all we here at Legal Blog Watch care about is: What do the lawyers think?

One lawyer with an opinion on all this is Boston College Law School professor Alfred Chueh-Chin Yen. Writing at the blog Madisonian.net, Yen finds -- as only a law professor could do -- parallels between the Patriots incident and copyright issues surrounding circumvention of digital rights management. One argument in Belichick's favor, Yen notes, is that deciphering signs is part of sports and perfectly legal. If deciphering signs is legal, the argument goes, what's the big deal about using a video camera to accomplish it? OK so far, but where is the parallel to circumvention of DRM? He explains:

"Both the Patriots and some circumventers have a 'legal' objective. The Patriots want to decipher the opponent's defensive signals, and some circumventers want to make fair use of a copyrighted work. The only 'offense' is using technology to accomplish otherwise legal ends. So, if we think (as some do) that penalties for circumvention should be lenient or nonexistent when fair use is the purpose, shouldn't the Patriots and Belichick get off with less severe punishment?"

Well, no, Yen says, in answer to his own query. The difference is that the Patriots had been called to task for this very offense before and had been given an express reminder this fall. The Patriots did not simply break a rule, Yen believes, but thumbed their noses at the league's authority. "With this in mind," Yen concludes, "I think the league has treated the Patriots and Belichick quite fairly."

Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on September 14, 2007 at 01:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Escribanos, consúltenos, opine

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

'Ecuador: President Correa Unveils His Blog'

'Ecuador: President Correa Unveils His Blog'
by Eduardo Avila

The curiosity behind President Rafael Correa's preview of the creation of his personal blog finally subsided, when the head of state unveiled his new means of communication with the people of Ecuador. The introduction of his personal blog [ES] was made through a video uploaded on YouTube (with English sub-titles) Standing in front of a virtual background, Correa invited the people to become actively involved in the construction of the Constituent Assembly through the social networking. However, as Christian Espinosa of Cobertura Digital [ES] writes that Correa created the blog to counteract, in his own words, "the perverse manipulations of the traditional media."

English sub-titles from Correa video:
Dear cyber-friends, Rafael Correa, President of the Republic of Ecuador greets you. You use the Internet as source and media for information and communication. And you have found in the web 2.0 a democratic instrument to express yourselves without the normal restrictions and perverse manipulations that traditional mass media tends to apply. To all of you, digital citizens that are in the same path with this citizenship project for a new, mass democratic and fairer country, I invite you to actively participate in the process of creating the new Constitution using the networks you have created. It's time to collaborate to join our minds, our capacities, let's use the complete range of technologies that Internet offers us to meet us and discuss the goals and the objectives that all the Ecuadorians have set for this historical and critical moment of our Country!
Ecuadorian bloggers react to the news with a bit of humor, skepticism, and optimism.

Gabby Corsalas wonders whether the subject matter will match other bloggers. She writes that "Rafico now has his own blog" at De Todo Un Poco [ES]:
Leí esta mañana que el Presidente Rafael Correa ya tiene su blog, es decir ya pertenece a los nuestros, pero me pregunto ¿qué tanto de blog tendrá? Nos contará que soñó anoche, que hizo al levantarse por la mañana, si se sintió frustrado al no ir al Beers & Blog o por lo contrario, nos compartirá la "ira" de no poder ejecutar sus ofrecimientos de campaña, y/o/u, será un ventana a la calle en el que nos contará "de todo un poco"…
I read this morning that President Rafael Correa now has his blog, which means that he now belongs to us, but I ask myself, "how much of a blog will it be?" Will he tell us what he dreamt about last night, what he did when he woke up, that he felt frustrated to not have attended Beers and Blog or will it be the opposite, and share the "frustration" of not being to implement his campaign promises, and/or will it be a window out to the street where he will talk about "a little bit of everything"...
However, some think that it will hardly be a blog written by Correa himself. Cronicacero [ES] has his own doubts about the blog's actual author and writes:
Con tanto viaje, con tanta reunión, con tanto problema y líos que resolver... ¿tendrá tiempo para un blog? Lo siento... sí, lo sé, siempre yo perverso, siempre dudando. Pero deben permitirme esa licencia. Aplaudo si la intensión es honesta y nace precisamente del mismo señor presidente Rafael Correa. Dudo mucho que él vaya a ser quien suscriba lo que en su blog allí se escribe. Pero es oficial, aparentemente el presidente Correa tiene su espacio en la blogosfera. Insisto, permitirme dudar.
With so much traveling, with so many meetings, with so many problems to solve.... will he have time for a blog? I'm sorry...yes, I know I am always cynical and always doubting. But you should permit me that. I am applaud it if the intention is honest and arises from the same President Rafael Correa. I doubt very much that he will be the one that writes in the blog. However, it is official, apparently President Correa has his own space in the blogosphere. I insist, allow me to doubt.
The blogger at Saturn Attacks [ES] also holds doubts, but also questions the real motives behind this leap into the blogosphere.
¿Este blog se convertirá solo en un medio de propaganda por estas elecciones? ¿El Ciudadano Presidente Rafael Correa es quien en verdad escribirá en este blog? ¿Y será el mismo quien responda? ¿Es esta una puerta abierta para la comunicación mandatario - mandantes?
Will this blog become a means of propaganda for these elections? Will the Citizen President Rafael Correa be the one who actually write in this blog? Will he be the one that actually responds? Will this be an open door for communication between the President and his constituents?
Pablo Pérez Cahuenas of iPab [ES] is hopeful that the internet can be a tool for change.
Pero bueno Mr. Raphael esta haciendo el blog para construir una asamblea mejor, opinar sobre este gran proyecto que hablabamos mucho antes, como él mismo dice nosotros los Cyber-Amigos(porque no somos Cyber-Compañeros?), tenemos que usar el internet para poder crear un país mejor.
Mr. Raphael is writing on the blog to create a better assembly, provide his opinion about this large project that we had been talking about, and as he calls us his Cyber-Friends (how come not Cyber-Companions?), we must use the internet to create a better country.
Finally at El blog de Palulo [ES], there is wonder what comes next and is looking forward to the information presented on Correa's blog.
También el presidente de los ecuatorianos ha sacado su blog no tan personal, en donde incentiva a la blogósfera a unirse al cambio. Luego de darse a conocer en hi5 y en toda red social existente (¿ya llegaría a Facebook?) también pasa a ser un Ciudadano 2.0. Como siempre estaremos pendientes de las propuestas virtuales y reales.
The President of Ecuador published his not-so-personal blog, where he challenges the blogosphere to unite for change. After making himself known in a Hi5 account and to the entire existing social network (is Facebook next?) he also becomes a Citizen 2.0. We are always on the lookout for the virtual and real proposals.
Special thanks to Christian Espinosa for help with the links.

You may view the latest post at
http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/2007/09/12/ecuador-president-correa-unveils-his-blog/

Escribanos, consúltenos, opine

'Japan: Protecting the Kyoto Cityscape'

'Japan: Protecting the Kyoto Cityscape'
by Hanako Tokita

While many countries around the world are struggling to tackle Kyoto at home, the city the environmental accord was named after is caught up in its own struggle. The capital of Japan for over 1,000 years (794-1868), Kyoto was once a picturesque ancient city surrounded by mountains. Today it is a major tourist destination, attracting about 47 million visitors every year, with a set of historic locations listed as World Heritage sites. At the same time, Kyoto is one of the major economic centers in the west of Japan. The economic boom in the 1980s and 1990s accelerated modern development in Kyoto, which turned the city into a big jumble of tall concrete buildings, glaring neon signs and rooftop advertisements. To clean up its negative image, the city of Kyoto recently passed a bill to introduce an ordinance protecting its cityscape and views. As the bylaw came into effect on September 1, raising some controversy, bloggers from Kyoto and elsewhere expressed various concerns and opinions.

Photo: Flickr user Jameswy Wang

One blogger writes:

と言うわけで、新景観条例には大いに賛同します。是非協力したいと思います。大体京都は観光客の多い町ですし、町が綺麗になれば、観光客が増える。つまり、「町を綺麗にすれば金が儲かる」わけです。極論すれば「町の美化＝金儲け」なんです、こんな図式が成り立つのは京都だけですよ。

Well, anyway, I totally support the new landscape bylaw. I would like to help by all means. Kyoto is a city which has a lot of tourists, and if the city becomes much cleaner, there will be even more tourists. In other words, "if the city is cleaned up, then there is money to be made". To put it in extreme terms, "beautification of the city = money making". Kyoto is the only place where this kind of scheme can be applied.

On the other hand, this blogger writes:
観光都市の京都なら仕方ないと思いますが、これがどこの街でも制定されるような状況になったら都市の発展が止まると思うのですが..。
変化を嫌う地方都市住民には歓迎されそうで不安です。

I think it's understandable in the case of Kyoto, a tourist city, but if this measure gets implemented in other cities, then I think it will prevent city development...
I am worried that this may be welcomed by people in regional cities who don't like change.

Controversial Kyoto Station

Fuji-chan Film is sceptical about the new bylaw.

規制するには遅過ぎると思う一方で、現状の景観の悪さはネオンや看板や電線だけではなく、京都駅や京都タワーや四条界隈のパチンコ屋等々複合的な要因が絡み合って構成されていますので、一部の景観規制をしてもどうしようもないような気がします。
そもそも観光客がイメージする所謂「京都」が残存している地域は、元々極一部なので、寺や歴史的建築物などをスポット的に保護するというのが現実的ではないでしょうか!?
京都の街並は日本のどこにでもあるような昭和を髣髴とさせる建物が大部分なので、結果的にそういったものを保護することになる景観政策には無駄が多いように思えます。

While I think the regulation came too late, I don't think you can do much by regulating some part of the city landscape. That's because the ugliness of the present landscape is made up of not only the neon signs and electric wires, but also Kyoto Station and Kyoto Tower as well as the pachinko places in the Shijo area and a combination of other elements.
The kind of areas that tourists think of as "Kyoto" are very scarce, so wouldn't be more realistic to pinpoint and protect temples and other historical architecture?
Because the city scape of Kyoto is largely made up of buildings that are reminiscent of the Showa era, which you see everywhere in Japan, the landscape policy seems to be a waste as these things will be protected as a result.

A pagoda with Kyoto Tower in the background
Photo: Courtesy of Chisaki Inoue

This blogger shares his/her experience and view.

京都市の景観条例。
建物の高さ制限や屋上広告の制限。
写真を撮るときどうしても屋上看板や高いビルが入ってしまうと、
地方の友人を京都案内した時いつも言っていた。
確かに歴史ある建造物や景色に無機質な物体が写っていれば、
何となく興ざめしてしまうだろう。
日本が誇る歴史的観光地として、
ひとつくらいは世界の歴史都市の真似をしてもいいと思う。

「ベランダから大文字焼きが見えるんです。」
高層マンションの住人が得意気に言う。
その高層マンションのために何人の人が、
大文字焼きを見ることが出来なくなったのだろうか。

Whenever I show my friends around Kyoto, they always say that rooftop signs and tall buildings are in the way when they try to take pictures.
Indeed, I can imagine that it could be a turnoff to see drab objects in pictures of historical buildings and landscapes.
As a historical tourist city that Japan boasts about, I think it should mimic at least one thing that other historic cities in the world do.

"I can see the Daimonjiyaki from my veranda,"
residents of high-rise condominiums boast.
As a result of these high-rise condos, how many people have lost the view of the Daimonjiyaki?

You may view the latest post at
http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/2007/09/12/japan-protecting-the-kyoto-cityscape/

Escribanos, consúltenos, opine

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Monday, September 24, 2007

Friday, September 21, 2007

Are You Using the Five Types ofLinks Properly?

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

In Olympics Success, Romney Found New Edge

The Long Run

Previous Articles

In 2000, a Streetwise Veteran Schooled a Bold Young Obama (Sept. 9, 2007)

In Turmoil of '68, Clinton Found a New Voice (Sept. 5, 2007)

Fred D. Thompson: Walking Washington's Fine Line (Aug. 27, 2007)

Rudolph W. Giuliani: In a Volatile City, a Stern Line on Race and Politics (July 22, 2007)

Barack Obama: In Illinois, Obama Proved Pragmatic and Shrewd (July 30, 2007)

Multimedia

Blog

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

New Social Sites Cater to People of a Certain Age

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Are You Using the Five Types of
Links Properly?